The Greeting Card Association (GCA) recently held a significant meeting with Royal Mail to discuss opportunities to work together to increase the number of greeting cards posted.
The GCA team took to the meeting consumer and membership research that made a compelling case for the sector — and for posted cards specifically. The GCA team represented all parts of the UK card industry, and met with Royal Mail’s Matt Parkes MD of Stamps (4th from right above), Janette Clark (far left), Dave Gillespie Head of Products and Channels (2nd from left) and Heidi Kieran Marketing director.
At the heart of the GCA’s presentation was new consumer research, conducted in June 2026 with 500 respondents, alongside a member survey of GCA businesses rating 19 potential initiatives. Together, these insights clearly highlighted three key, interconnected themes:
Affordability — the biggest barrier
Affordability emerged as the standout issue. Stamp cost was cited by 57% of consumers as the single biggest obstacle to sending more cards — and crucially, the research showed that lower postage prices are the strongest lever for encouraging increased sending.
Significantly, “preference for digital communication” ranked relatively low — second to last in fact — reinforcing an important message: consumers haven’t fallen out of love with cards, they’re simply being priced out of posting them.
Engagement — keeping card sending alive
Engagement was the second theme, covering both current behaviours and the wider cultural question of how we keep card-sending thriving across generations.
The research pointed to a clear appetite for simple but effective enablers, including:
There was also strong support for teaching children and young people how to write, address and send cards — a vital long-term investment in the category, and one already being brought to life through the GCA’s Card Club initiative, designed to put pen to paper and inspire children aged 4–11 to send cards.
Availability — making it easy to act
Availability rounded out the picture, with clear evidence that improving access to stamps at card retail is key. Making it easy to buy a stamp at the moment of purchase can remove a barrier and turn intention into action.
Bringing the industry voice to the table
GCA Council members Ashton Duckitt (UKG) and Pip Heywood (thortful) co-presented the research, and were joined by Wendy Jones-Blackett , Seth Woodmansterne and Card Factory’s Sam Hornsby, who gave an overview of how the industry is continuing to raise awareness and engagement through trade marketing initiatives.
The GCA team also shared our #Cardmitment point of sale assets for Christmas 2026, showcasing how the industry is already thinking proactively about encouraging more people to send cards at key moments.
A genuinely collaborative conversation
After a constructive and collaborative conversation a series of follow ups were agreed, including a further meeting planned forJuly.
“It was a genuinely collaborative conversation. Royal Mail were open and engaged with both our findings and our ideas.
I’m pleased that we landed two key points — firstly that cards are still robust, but that customers are finding ways beyond Royal Mail to deliver them, so there is revenue on the table if we get this right together.
Secondly, that social mail is the only avenue Royal Mail have for volume recovery in letters — people aren’t going to send more business or legal mail.
Royal Mail have a unique opportunity to work with an enthusiastic, creative and resilient sector to get more volume and efficiency back into their network — something we all want, and certainly something the GCA can enable.”
“It was great to be back at Royal Mail, this time discussing ways of working together to increase the number of greeting cards posted. The GCA team fully represented the whole UK card industry, and it was great to have the opportunity to discuss marketing initiatives and share GCA member feedback with the Royal Mail marketing and stamp team.
The meeting was productive and collaborative, and we are meeting again in July to discuss in more detail potential activity for Christmas 2026. We hope to be able to share more at the GCA’s Retail Forum on 29th July”
Thank you to our members
A big thank you to all GCA members who took the time to respond to our survey. Your input enabled us to present clear, direct feedback from greeting card retailers and publishers on what would genuinely help increase sales of posted cards — and that insight made a real difference in the discussion.
Looking ahead
This was a positive and important step forward. There’s real opportunity here for Royal Mail and the greeting card industry to work more closely together to make sending cards more accessible, affordable and appealing.
We’re looking forward to continuing the conversation — and to sharing more updates soon.
